SOUTHBRIDGE — Dr. Thomas E. O'Leary, a pediatrician and School Committee member, said he intends to resign from his school board seat in the wake of allegations that he assaulted a young patient.

Dr. O'Leary said he would not comment on the allegations but said he plans to resign from the seat on the School Committee he has held since 2008.

The pediatrician lost his job with Harrington Physician Services on South Street Friday after police alleged he slapped a 6-year-old patient in the face on Oct. 28.

Dr. O'Leary said he intends to leave the school board because he didn't want to bring any additional issues to the panel. He also had served 10 years on the Board of Health, including seven as its chairman.

With his looming departure, the seven-person committee would be down two members. Former Chairman Patricia Woodruff resigned last month, saying the board had become too focused on politics and not on schoolchildren.

Dr. O'Leary did not attend the School Committee meeting Tuesday night.

Harrington spokesman Thomas Nutile said the doctor was immediately placed on paid leave on Oct. 28. After completion of an internal investigation, he was terminated Nov. 1.

"Any allegation involving a patient is taken seriously at Harrington and is handled immediately," Mr. Nutile said.

A magistrate's hearing will be held at Dudley District Court on Nov. 19 to consider a charge against the doctor of assault and battery on a minor causing injury, according to the boy's father.

Police were told the boy had kicked the doctor before the doctor allegedly slapped him, according to Chief Charette, who added that there did not appear to be any intent to injure the boy.

The father, who recently moved from Fitchburg to Worcester, said he witnessed the incident. He said his son suffers from severe attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and has behavioral problems.

In an interview with the Telegram & Gazette, the boy's father acknowledged his son was "acting up" during the visit.

The father said his son took off his shoe and motioned as if he would throw it at him.

"Before I could even get up, the doctor got up, took the shoe and threw it to the ground, yelling right in his face," the father said.

He said his son got into a "defensive position." He explained that his ex-wife's boyfriend used to hit the boy, which is why he has custody of his two sons.

The boy "flinched and pushed" Dr. O'Leary away with his hand and that is when Dr. O'Leary hit him across the face, according to the father.

He said the assault left a welt and bruise on the boy's face for two days. He said the boy also had trouble sleeping after the incident.

The father said he immediately hugged his son and "got loud" with Dr. O'Leary, asking if the pediatrician were crazy.

He said he and his son and the doctor were taken into separate rooms, and hospital personnel made efforts to have the matter handled internally.

The father said he had been taking his son to see Dr. O'Leary for three years and there were no previous incidents. He said when he made the appointment, he told personnel his son would not be on his normal medication to show the doctor how he'd been behaving and to illustrate that his medication needed to be changed.

The father said he told Dr. O'Leary his son's behavior was typically good until about 2:30 in the afternoon, when he starts to act up, and suggested he needed more prolonged medication.

Though Dr. O'Leary did not attend Tuesday night's school board meeting, a nameplate marking his seat was in place.

After the meeting, School Committee Chairman Lauren McLoughlin said she had not received any correspondence from Dr. O'Leary, nor had she heard from him.

Members of town boards usually submit letters of resignation to the town clerk. Attempts to reach the town clerk Tuesday night were unsuccessful.

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